The morning after…
First, thanks to the community here at Haines His Way, for showing so much interest in Such Good Friends. Asking questions, saying you enjoyed reading my posts, enjoyed reading reviews and interviews, and, best of all – attending the show! So many of you! I’m very grateful.
I always thought it might be interesting to compare and contrast our NYMF experiences: me, BK and FJL. BK had to endure the headaches that a director and producer go through. I was shielded from those anxieties by a top director and a NYMF-veteran producer who saw to it that my blood pressure wasn’t raised every time our show was NYMF-ed. Fred alludes to things he cannot utter, so we don’t exactly know what they are, but it’s a safe bet his experience is very different, wearing one hat (book-writer) and being in the good hands of the director with the most NYMF experience, Elizabeth Lucas.
There’s a line in My Fair Lady (probably Pygmalion, too) in which Higgins defends his bad behavior by claiming that he treats everyone equally. I imagine NYMF could make that claim. Among the keys to Such Good Friends’ success was having a team of top professionals – stage manager Jon Goldman, lighting maven Jim Milkey, and sound man Nick Borisjuk, who saw to it that every word could be heard. From the audience’s point of view, there were no technical glitches at all.
Our leading lady hosted a terrific cast party that lasted no fewer than 6 hours. We could barely tear ourselves a way from each other, such was the love and admiration in that room. These ten came into my life SO recently – the first read-through was September 10, and all brilliantly contributed to the storytelling. Rehearsals were an amazing creative process “What if I moved here?” “How about if I said it this way?” that improved the show immeasurably. To anyone who seems impressed that one man wrote book, music and lyrics, I say it’s a misconception: one writer and ten actors fashioned this text, under the superb guidance of a boy wonder director, who contributed a great many lines. It’s the product of a dozen. And, those who saw it: How about that choreography? Funny? Telling the story? That’s Wendy Seyb’s brilliance. And the one thing I never had to worry about – SO supportive, SO helpful in furthering the story – the musical direction and orchestration of Michael Horsley.
Something I never imagined was how colorful our production would be. I dream in black and white, and Jeff Hinchee’s sets and Lisa Zinni’s glorious costumes enlivened what I’d always thought of as a drab era, still remaining true to the period.
I may have more later...
